Six Nations 2026: Mystery, magic and madness – Scotland’s perfect day against England

Scotland travel to Cardiff as favourites, but without three players from the Calcutta Cup. Victory came at a cost.

Jack Dempsey, aggressive on the legs, Jamie Ritchie, a warrior in his 40 minutes, and Jamie Dobbie, outstanding in every area after a difficult experience in Roma, will not make it to Wales.

Dempsey and Ritchie may never be seen again in the tournament.

Townsend could do without those blows, but he is used to the carnage of Six Nations rugby. He also has fit MPs waiting for the trip to the Principality Stadium.

One win must turn into two or the significance of what happened at Murrayfield will disappear like so many other wins over England. Unless it’s built on properly, it’s a one-time event and everyone associated with this team is tired of one-time events.

All the self-doubt Scotland has now transfers to England. It’s a heavy burden. It is said, endlessly, that Scotland rise to England more than any other rival. We can debate how accurate this is until the cows come home.

The pertinent question about this England team, and the teams before them on a run of five defeats in six games to Scotland, is why haven’t they risen for Scotland?

The dawn of reality must now be at hand for England’s players – ‘Maybe it’s not you Scotland, maybe it’s us’.

Tuipulotu said on Friday that his team was desperate and wanted to see despair descend upon England. He got his wish.

We knew Scotland had this kind of performance deep down – there was plenty of, if fleeting, evidence of their class – but what we didn’t know, and what we couldn’t afford to take in confidence, was their ability to deliver this kind of controlled fury for 80 minutes.

But they did. This was a performance as dominant in Scotland as in England, a thing of thunder and beauty, of sophistication and heart, of cruelty and brilliance. All those teams combined in the Calcutta Cup that people had played for before the match – Scotland had an average of three or four players in a combined team – were torn to shreds. The new version will have more tartan than the shortbread factory.

It was a match that sparked dozens of revelations worth pondering, not only in the creation and execution of Scotland’s tries but also the things they did in defence. For the man, the core team and the bench, they stood.

They defended themselves, their coach, and their supporters.

With every devilish play on defense during the second half, you get a glimpse of how tough last week was for them and how they were willing to do anything – anything – to make things better.